Double eyelid forming tape or string and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A double eyelid forming tape or string that can form an eyelid with a clear fold easily and safely in a simple manner, and a method of manufacturing the same is provided. It is constructed by applying an adhesive on a narrow tape member being resiliently elastic, or being stretchable and exhibiting resilient elasticity after being stretched, and providing holding portions having no adhering property on the surfaces at both ends thereof for holding by fingertips. A fold of the double eyelid is formed by pressing the tape member on the position of the eyelid where the user wants to form a fold in a state where both ends thereof are held and stretched, adhering the tape member thereon with the adhesive, and releasing the same. Therefore, when the tape member under a tension resiliently contracts, it breaks into the eyelid and forms an eyelid with a fold.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/743,864, filed Dec. 24, 2003, the entire content of which isincorporated herein by reference and claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§120 to U.S. application Ser. No. 09/968,985 filed Oct. 3, 2001 andclaims foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Application No.2000-303797, filed Oct. 3, 2000 and Japanese Application No. 2001-160951filed May 29, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a double eyelid forming tape or stringfor forming a clear double eyelid easily in a simple manner, and amethod of manufacturing the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

In order to form a double eyelid, a method of forming an eyelid with afold by bonding the eyelid skin by the use of water borne latexemulsion, polymer emulsion, or the like, or a method of forming a filmby adhering a single-sided adhesive tape, or applying curable polymer,thereby forming an eyelid with a fold is conventionally known.

However, both of these methods have problems in that they require veryexacting tasks, whereby clear finish cannot be expected unless the usergets used to it to some extent, and in the former adhering method, theskin may be irregularly puckered by adhesion, and in the latter filmforming method, the film leaves a pring on the eyelid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problems,and to provide double eyelid forming tape or string for forming aneyelid with a clear fold in a simple manner without puckering up theskin or leaving the print of the film thereon.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a double eyelidforming tape or string that can form a fold directly on the eyelid sothat a natural double eyelid is obtained.

Further object of the present invention is to provide a double eyelidforming tape or string that the operation for forming a double eyelid issafe and easy.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method ofmanufacturing the double eyelid forming tape described above veryeasily.

In order to achieve the object described above, the double eyelidforming tape according to the present invention is basically comprises aresiliently elastic narrow tape member, and an adhesive applied thereon.

In the double eyelid forming tape described above, the tape member maybe formed of synthetic resin being stretchable and exhibiting resilientelasticity after being stretched, and the adhesive described above maybe applied on both surfaces or on one of the surfaces of the tapemember.

The double eyelid forming tape described above may be provided withholding portions the surfaces of which has no adhering property at bothends for being held with fingertips.

In the double eyelid forming tape described above, the tape member maybe attached with a release sheet having a breaking point that is to bebroken when being applied with a tension on the both surfaces or on oneof the surfaces thereof.

In the double eyelid forming tape described above, the breaking point issuitably a notched groove formed generally at the center of the lengthof the sheet described above, and the sheet is preferably formed ofsilicon paper or a film applied with silicon processing.

On the other hand, a method of manufacturing double eyelid forming tapeaccording to the present invention comprises the steps of applying anadhesive on the both surfaces or on one of the surfaces of a givenlength of resiliently elastic sheet member, forming holding portionshaving no adhering property at both widthwise ends thereof, and cuttingthe same widthwise into narrow strips.

Another method of manufacturing double eyelid forming tape according tothe present invention comprises the steps of applying an adhesive on oneof both of the surfaces of a given length of resiliently elastic sheetmember, attaching release sheet formed with a notched groove generallyat the center of the length thereof on both surfaces or one of thesurfaces of the sheet member applied with the adhesive, and cutting thesame widthwise into narrow strips.

A double eyelid forming string according to the present inventionbasically comprises a resiliently elastic string member, and an adhesiveapplied thereon.

The double eyelid forming string described above may be provided withholding portions having no adhesive property on the surfaces thereof forbeing held by fingertips at both ends thereof, and the string member maybe covered up with a jacket having a breaking point that is to be brokenwhen being applied with tension.

In order to form double eyelid with the double eyelid forming tapehaving the construction described above, the user holds both ends of thetape member and stretches it into resiliently stretched state, and inthis state, places and presses the portion of the tape member appliedwith an adhesive at the position of his/her eyelid where he or she wantsto form a fold, adheres the tape member with the adhesive thereon, andreleases the holding portion at both ends. Then, the tape member under atension resiliently contracts. Since the eyelid is normally projectingtoward the front at the center thereof along the eyeball with respect toboth ends, the resiliently contracted tape member breaks into the eyelidon which it is attached and forms a fold on the eyelid. The unnecessaryportion on both ends may be cut afterwards.

Since the tape member forms a fold for double eyelid directly on theeyelid as described above, a natural double eyelid may be formed withoutpuckering up the skin or leaving a print of the film on the eyelid as inthe conventional method. In addition, it can be made only by stretchingboth ends of the tape member, and in this state, pressing it against theposition of the eyelid where he/she wants to form a fold, therebyforming a clear double eyelid in a simple manner.

In the conventional method described above, the user has to use a pusheror the like to form a fold by himself/herself when bonding the eyelidskin or adhering the single-sided adhesive tape or the like on theeyelid. However, the double eyelid forming tape according to the presentinvention forms an eyelid with a fold by its own contractive force, andthus the pusher or the like is not necessary, and formation of doubleeyelid can be performed safely and easily.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the double eyelid formingtape according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of manufacture of a doubleeyelid forming tape according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory drawing showing a state of preparing forforming a double eyelid by the use of the double eyelid forming tapeaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory drawing showing a state in which a doubleeyelid is formed by the use of the double eyelid forming tape accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing another embodiment of the double eyelidforming tape according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the part A in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing still another embodiment of the doubleeyelid forming tape according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which both ends of the double eyelidforming tape shown in FIG. 5 are held.

FIG. 9 is a drawing showing a state in which both ends of the doubleeyelid forming tape shown in FIG. 5 are being held and stretched in theopposite directions.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a state in which the double eyelidforming tape shown in FIG. 5 is stretched in the opposite directions.

FIG. 11 is a drawing showing a state in which both ends of the doubleeyelid forming tape shown in FIG. 7 are being held and stretched in theopposite directions.

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view showing an embodiment of the doubleeyelid forming string according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a drawing showing a state in which both end of the doubleeyelid forming string shown in FIG. 12 are being held and stretched inthe opposite directions.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an example of manufacture of thedouble eyelid forming string according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is an embodiment of the double eyelid forming tape according tothe present invention.

The double eyelid forming tape can basically be constructed by applyingan adhesive 2 on the front and back surfaces of a resiliently elasticnarrow tape member 1. Though any tape of tape members 1 described abovemay be employed as far as it stretches when both ends thereof are heldand stretched, and acts to contract resiliently to the original state,it is specially preferable to form it of synthetic resin beingstretchable and exhibiting resilient elasticity after being stretchedsuch as polyethylene. The tape member 1 is generally formed in a narrowtape of about 1 to 3 mm in width, but the width is not limited to thatrange, and the shape does not have to be of accurate tape shape.

In addition, the adhesive 2 described above may be any type as far as itcan be used for the skin.

Since the tape member 1 is adhered on the eyelid with the both endsthereof held by the fingertips, it is preferably provided at both endswith holding portions 3 having no adhesive property on the surfacesthereof. The holding portions 3 are suitably formed by adhering thecovering sheets on the adhesive 2 applied on the front and back surfacesof the tape-shape member 1, as shown in the figure. However, the holdingportion 3 may be formed by winding covering sheets at the ends of thetape member 1, by applying an application agent or a chemical agent suchas coating material or the like for suppressing adhering property at theends of the tape member 1, or even by applying no adhesive 2 thereon.

The holding portion 3 does not have to suppress adhesive property of theadhesive completely. For example, the holding portion 3 may be formed byadhering the covering sheet only on one of the surfaces of the tapemember 1, or the suitable holding portion 3 described above may beformed only at one end of the tape member 1. Generally, the holdingportion 3 is preferably formed as long as 5 mm or more from the end ofthe tape member 1 for facilitating holding action.

In the figure, the reference numeral 4 designates a release sheet to beadhered on the portion where the adhesive 2 is applied for facilitatingthe handling of the double eyelid forming tape.

The double eyelid forming tape described above can be manufactured withextreme ease, as shown in FIG. 2, by applying an adhesive 12 on thewhole area of the front and back surfaces of the resiliently elasticsheet member 11 and has a given length in the direction X, formingholding portions 13 having no adhesive property at both ends when viewedin the widthwise direction (direction W), and cutting it along a numberof cutting lines L into narrow strips. In this case, the sheet member 11may be the same material as the tape member 1 shown in FIG. 1.

The holding portion 13 may also be formed by adhering covering sheets onthe adhesive 12 applied on the front and back surfaces of the sheetmember 11, or by applying an application agent or a chemical agent suchas coating material or the like for suppressing adhering property, as inthe case of the example shown in FIG. 1. In addition, the holdingportion 13 may also be formed by excluding both ends of the sheet memberthat are used as holding portions from application of an adhesive.

Alternatively, it can also be formed by adhering a release sheet or thelike for facilitating the handling of the double eyelid forming tape onthe portion applied with the adhesive 12 in advance, and cutting it withthe sheet member 11 along the cutting lines L.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, though the adhesive 2 isapplied on both of the front and back surfaces of the resilientlyelastic narrow tape member 1, it is not limited thereto. For example,the adhesive 2 may be applied only on either the front surface or theback surface of the resiliently elastic narrow tape member 1, and inthis case, the release sheet 4 or the covering sheet must simply beprovided on the surface applied with the adhesive 12.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, though the adhesive 2 isapplied on the front and back surfaces of the tape member 1 so as tocover up the whole area thereof, it is not limited thereto, and theadhesive 2 may be applied partially on the surface of the tape member 1that is to be applied with the adhesive 2 as far as it does not have anydisadvantage for adhering the tape member under a tension on the eyelid.

In other words, as far as the both ends of the tape member under atension is adhered on the eyelid by an adhesive when the tape member isadhered on the eyelid under a tension, the tape member is adhered insuch a manner that it breaks into the eyelid by its tensile strengtheven when no adhesive is applied on the central portion of the tapemember, and thus there is no special harm in applying no adhesive on thecentral portion of the tape member. There is also no special harm inproviding the portion where the adhesive is applied and the portionwhere the adhesive is not applied alternately at short intervals alongthe length of the tape member 1 for adhering the tape member undertension on the eyelid.

Therefore, though the adhesive 2 may be applied in such a manner that itcovers the whole area of the surface of the tape member 1 on which theadhesive 2 is to be applied, it is not limited thereto, and the adhesive2 may also be applied to cover a part of the surface of the tape member1 on which the adhesive 2 is to be applied, as far as a specialconsideration is given to causing no disadvantage for adhering the tapemember on the eyelid in the stretched state.

Subsequently, a method for forming a eyelid with a fold by the use ofthe double eyelid forming tape having the construction described abovewill now be described.

FIG. 3 shows the tape member 1 formed of synthetic resin beingstretchable and exhibiting resilient elasticity even after beingstretched, in a state in which the tape member 1 is stretched by holdingthe holding portions 3 at both ends thereof with fingertips andstretching the same, in other words, the state prepared for adhering thetape member 1 on the eyelid. In this state, the tape member 1 has aconstructive force for resiliently restoring to its original state.

Then, the user pushes the portion of the tape member 1 where theadhesive 2 is applied against the eyelid 7 where he/she wants to form afold with the tape member 1 held on the opposite ends and stretched asshown in FIG. 4, adheres the tape member 1 thereon by the adhesive 2,and releases the holding portions 3 at both ends, whereby, the tapemember 1 under a tension resiliently contracts. Since the eyelid isnormally projecting toward the front at the center thereof along theeyeball with respect to both ends, the resiliently contracted tapemember 1 breaks into the eyelid 7 on which it is attached and forms aneyelid with a fold. The holding portions 3 on both ends are cut afterthe fold is formed.

Since the tape member 1 forms a fold for double eyelid directly on theeyelid 7, a natural double eyelid may be formed without puckering up theskin or leaving a print of the film on the eyelid as in the conventionalmethods. In addition, since the user must simply press the tape member 1being held at both ends and stretched in the opposite directions againstthe position of the eyelid where he/she wants to form a fold, a cleardouble eyelid may be formed in a simple manner.

In the conventional methods described above, the user has to use apusher or the like to form a fold by himself/herself when bonding theeyelid skin or when adhering single-sided adhesive tape or the like.However, the double eyelid forming tape forms an eyelid with a fold byits own contractive force, and thus the pusher or the like is notnecessary, and formation of double eyelid can be performed safely andeasily.

FIG. 5-FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the double eyelid forming tapeaccording to the present invention.

The double eyelid forming tape 20 according to this embodiment is, asshown in FIG. 5-FIG. 6, provided with sheets 22, 22 in the shape of anarrow tape having a breaking point to be broken at the center thereofby a tension adhered on the front and back surfaces of the resilientlyelastic narrow tape member 21 applied with an adhesive (not shown)respectively.

The breaking point is preferably formed of a notched groove 23 formedwidthwise on the adhering surface of the sheet 22, as shown in a partialenlarged view of FIG. 6.

In this case, the tape member 21 may be formed of the same material asthe tape member 1 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the sheet 22may be formed of a film applied with silicon processing or silicon paperformed of paper shaped silicon resin, so that breakage or release fromthe adhesive may be facilitated.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5-FIG. 6, though an adhesive is appliedon the front and back surfaces of the tape member 21, the double eyelidforming tape 20 is not limited thereto, and, for example, may be appliedwith the adhesive only on either the front surface or the back surfaceof the tape member 21.

The sheet 22 having a breaking point does not necessarily have to beadhered on both surfaces of the tape member 21. As shown in FIG. 7, thesheet 22 having the breaking point 23 a may be adhered either one of thesurfaces of the tape member 21.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the adhesive is applied only on oneof the surfaces of the tape member 21 and a sheet 22 having the breakingpoint 23 a that is cut in advance is adhered only on the surface onwhich the adhesive 12 is applied. However, the breaking point in thiscase may be the one as shown in FIG. 6.

The double eyelid forming tape 20 may be constructed in such a mannerthat the sheet 22 is attached only on one side of the tape member 21applied with the adhesive on both front and back surfaces, and a releasesheet is attached on the other surface that is not attached with thesheet 22. The release sheet is to be peeled off when the double eyelidforming tape 20 is used.

Though the notched groove 23 may be provided on the front surface or onthe back surface of the sheet 22, providing it on the backside, which isthe side where the sheet 22 is attached, makes the notched groove 23invisible and prevents it from being broken by mistake.

A method of manufacturing the double eyelid forming tape 20 is basicallythe same as the one described in conjunction with FIG. 2. To be moreprecise, it is manufactured by the steps of providing a notched groove23 on the sheet 22 formed of a film applied with silicon processing or asheet 22 formed of silicon paper at the center along the length thereof(corresponds to the direction X in FIG. 2), applying an adhesive on oneor both of the surfaces of a resiliently elastic tape member 21,adhering the sheet 22 provided with the notched groove 23 on one or bothof the surfaces of the tape member 21 applied with the adhesive,applying the sheet 22 formed with the notched groove 23 on one of bothof the surfaces of the tape member 21 applied with the adhesive, andcutting it into narrow strips along a number of cutting lines orientedin the direction of width (direction W) in FIG. 2.

When adhering the sheet 22 only on one of the surfaces of the tapemember 21, it is not necessary to apply an adhesive on the othersurface, but it is not limited thereto. It is also applicable to adherethe sheet 22 only on one of the surfaces of the tape member 21 that isapplied with an adhesive on both of the front and back surfaces, andadhere a release sheet on the surface where the sheet 22 is not adhered,and then cutting it into narrow strips along a number of cutting lines.

With this method, the double eyelid forming tape 20 may be manufacturedwith extreme ease.

The double eyelid forming tape 20 is, as shown in FIG. 8, held withfingers on the left and right sides of the notched groove 23 thereof,and as shown in FIG. 9, the breaking point of the sheet 22 is broken bya tensile strength when the double eyelid forming tape 20 is stretchedfrom the left and right sides. Therefore, the tape member 21 of thedouble eyelid forming tape 20 may be stretched in the lateral direction.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are side views showing the double eyelid formingtape shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7 are stretched in the oppositedirections. The tape member 21 starts to be stretched from the portionin the vicinity of the breaking point provided at the center of thelength thereof when being stretched, and then the portion of the tapemember 21 that is at a distance from the breaking point stretchesprogressively as it is stretched laterally in the opposite directions.

Though the thickness of the tape member 21 reduces when it is stretched,the appearance of the thickness of the tape member 21 shown in FIG. 10and FIG. 11 is such that even though the center portion of the tapemember 21 is already stretched, the significant portion near both endsis not started to be stretched yet. Therefore, it is understood that thetape member 21 can be stretched to the extent much longer than the stateshown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11.

The method of forming an eyelid with a fold by the use of the doubleeyelid forming tape 20 shown in FIG. 5-FIG. 7 is the same as the methodof forming an eyelid with a fold by the use of the double eyelid formingtape according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

With the double eyelid forming tape 20 according to the embodiment shownin FIG. 5-FIG. 7, since the sheet 22 having a breaking point that is tobe broken when being stretched is adhered on one or both of the surfacesof the tape member 21 where an adhesive is applied, the adhesive on thetape member 21 does not stick to the fingers or other articles evenwithout the holding portion or the release paper as in the case of thedouble eyelid forming tape according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

When using the double eyelid forming tape 20, the tape member 21 isexposed in the stretched state only by stretching the double eyelidforming tape 20 laterally in the opposite directions. Therefore it isfurther convenient in comparison with the double eyelid forming tapeaccording to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view showing another embodiment of thedouble eyelid forming string according to the present invention, andFIG. 13 is a drawing showing a state in which the double eyelid formingstring is stretched in the opposite directions.

As shown in FIG. 12, the double eyelid forming string 30 according tothis embodiment is constructed in such a manner that a string member 31resiliently elastic with an adhesive (not shown) applied thereon issandwiched and covered by a pair of sheets 32, 32 in the shape of anarrow tape and having a breaking point 33 to be broken when beingstretched at the center thereof.

The sheets 32, 32 are jackets for covering up the string member 31applied with an adhesive, which are applied with an adhesive (not shown)on the sides that sandwich the string member 31 and joined with eachother. The breaking point 33 is formed of a notched groove provided atthe center of the sheet 32. The side of the sheet 32 that sandwiches thestring member 31 may be provided with an arcuate groove foraccommodating the string member 31 in the longitudinal direction.

The string member 31 may be formed of the same material as the tapemember 1 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the sheet 32 may be afilm applied with silicon processing or silicon paper formed of a papershaped silicon resin.

Though the string member 31 applied with an adhesive is covered up by apair of sheets 32, 32 in the shape of a narrow tape in the embodimentshown in FIG. 12, the double eyelid forming string according to thepresent invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, thestring member 31 may be covered up by a sheet 32 in the shape of anarrow tape having a breaking point 33 to be broken when it is stretchedon one side of the string member 31 and by a release paper on the otherside thereof. Alternatively, holding portions having no adheringproperty for holding with fingertips may be provided at both ends of thestring member 31 applied with an adhesive thereon.

Alternatively, in the double eyelid forming string described above, atubular jacket having a breaking point 33 to be broken when beingstretched at the center of the length thereof may be used for coveringup the string member 31 applied with the adhesive instead of coveringthe string member 31 applied with an adhesive with the tape shapedsheets 32, 32.

In the double eyelid forming string described above, it is notnecessarily required to apply an adhesive all over the surface of thestring member 31 as far as it has no disadvantage for adhering thestring member under a tension on the eyelid.

FIG. 14 is an example of a method of manufacturing the double eyelidforming string described above.

The method of manufacturing the double eyelid forming string 30comprises the steps of providing a V-shaped notched grooves 33 at thecenter of the sheet 32 of a given length formed of a film applied withsilicon processing or of silicon paper, applying an adhesive on aplurality of resiliently elastic string members 31 cut into more or lessthe same length as the sheet 32, placing the plurality of string members31 applied with an adhesive in parallel on the surface of the sheet 32to be adhered, placing another sheet 32 thereon and joining a pair ofsheets with each other, whereby adhering the string member applied withthe adhesive in parallel on the sheet 32 having a notched groove, andcutting the sheet 32 adhered with the plurality of string members alongthe string members into narrow strings.

Though the string member 31 applied with an adhesive are adhered inparallel between a pair of sheets 32, 32 each formed with a notchedgroove in the direction of the width in the embodiment shown in FIG. 14,it is not limited thereto, and, for example, it is also possible tomanufacture it by adhering a plurality of string members 31 applied withan adhesives in parallel on a sheet 32 formed at the center thereof witha notched groove, adhering a release sheet thereon, and cutting thesheet adhered with the plurality of string member and a release sheetalong the string members into narrow strips.

A method of forming an eyelid with a fold by the use of the doubleeyelid forming string 30 shown in FIG. 12 is the same as the method offorming an eyelid with a fold by the use of the double eyelid formingtape of the embodiments shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5-FIG. 7.

1. A double eyelid forming article of manufacture, comprising: aresiliently stretchable tape member comprising a synthetic resinmaterial, having an adjustable length and having flat upper and lowersurfaces; a layer of adhesive on at least one of the upper and lowersurfaces of the tape member; and at least one release sheet having abreaking point configured to break when the tape member is beingstretched, the least one release sheet being located on the layer ofadhesive tape which is located on at least one of the upper and lowersurfaces of the tape member, wherein the tape member is configured toprovide a sufficient amount of recoil after being adhered on an eyelidsuch that the tape member breaks into the eyelid and forms a fold in theeyelid, and the breaking point is formed by a cut formed in a middleportion in a thickness direction of the release sheet substantially at acenter portion of a length of the at least one release sheet.
 2. Adouble eyelid forming article of manufacture according to claim 1,wherein the cut is formed in a surface opposed to the layer of adhesivein the release sheet.
 3. A double eyelid forming article of manufactureaccording to claim 1, wherein the release sheet is made of siliconresin.
 4. A double eyelid forming article of manufacture according toclaim 1, wherein the tape member includes polyethylene.
 5. A doubleeyelid forming article of manufacture according to claim 1, wherein thecut formed in the middle portion of the release sheet is a notchedgroove.